Dimensional Addition to the Car Mat!

When I originally made Liam his car mat, my intention was that he would use it to play with the dozens of matchbox cars/hotwheels that were in his collection.  I made it for his third birthday, before which he had never seen a full-length movie.  However, he was soon thereafter exposed to the Disney piece of marketing genius thrill ride Cars, and the merchandise followed close behind.  Liam's dad and I are the prime (perhaps sole) perpetrators of this purchasing--he just loves those characters so much!  And so, the car mat has morphed in Liam's mind into his very own Radiator Springs.  BUT (if you are wondering what the heck this has to do with anything), the Cars cars are bigger than your standard matchbox variety.  Most of the racecar/sedan type cars still fit in the pockets and pouches of the car mat without much trouble (I did leave a little wiggle room), but some of his favorite characters, like Mater, have had to live in the car mat's bus station.

Shoot!  I don't wanna live at the bus station!

So, I thought I'd start by adding Tow Mater's Tow Shed, which I felt confident making because in the movie it looks like it's about to fall down anyway:

hard to mess up!

I wasn't really basing my design on the movie--as long as the truck fits inside, I'll take it as a win!

Oh, also, I usually use puff paint to do lettering on the felt, but then the piece needs to dry overnight, and Liam was really antsy to get Mater's garage (since I had been promising him I'd get to it for weeks.)  So I tried my hand at embroidery.  I could have traced out the lettering first, but I kind of like the off-kilter look--makes sense for Mater to me.

Liam chose the colors for the felt and the embroidery floss.

I like his color combo!  He chose the felt to match Mater,
and the floss was in his favorite colors of the week.

And lo!  He fits!

So, now the mat rolls up a little lumpier, but no biggie.  Liam is happy, and Mater is very comfortable in his new home.